Protection
by ironkissedfanfics
Summary: Their first meeting was not pleasant but everyone deserves a second chance, right? Can Gajeel and Levy overcome their rough start? Rated M for language, very brief instances of violence, and possible smut later on. (I will put warnings before anything happens-both violent or sexy- in case you just want to skip!) Please read and review! (cross-posted)
1. College Days

**A/N: Hey guys! Thank you so much for taking the time to check out my first work! I appreciate every one of you and I can't wait to hear what you have to say about my story! As I said, I will be putting warnings at the beginning of chapters that need them and I will place a "*" before the paragraph that contains what the warning was for! I don't want anyone to be uncomfortable, so if there is anything that I miss when putting up warnings, please don't be afraid to let me know and I will fix it right away! There shouldn't be too many instances where warnings are needed as this is in NO WAY based solely around violence or smut but I will be sure to warn every time!**

 **That being said, there is a small bit of violence towards the end of the chapter that will be marked with a "*" so if you don't want to read it, find the next "*" after it!**

 **Again, thank you guys so much for reading and please let me know what you think! 3 I have the first 2 chapters written so I will be posting both now to get you lovelies started!**

 **College Days:**

As her first college finals drew close, a determined Levy McGarden retracted all of her spare time that was usually spent on reading and pushed it towards her studies. The small, blue-haired woman was usually a focused person to begin with, but the pressure of finals drawing near forced her to be even more immersed in her work. She was in a few writing classes but she didn't feel like she really had the imagination to create her own stories. Levy was more interested in editing. The idea of helping people reach their goals thrilled her and just the thought of being the first person to ever read a book, despite it being published or not, made her giddy.

Levy didn't like to look at herself as someone who was too focused to enjoy life or friends, but lately she just hadn't been up to talking with pretty much anyone. She used to spend a lot of time with her best friend Lucy, and though they are currently rooming together at Fairy Tail University, they didn't spend as much time together as they used to. She knew it was her fault; Lucy was always inviting her to go hang out with her and her "not" boyfriend but she was too worried about her classes to want to go out and have fun. She knew her and her best friend were still doing great, but she really was beginning to feel like she was missing out. She was going to make up for it, but she decided to wait at least until after her finals were over.

Just as she had decided that she would make it up to her best friend, Lucy came striding into the room looking as if she was on cloud nine. The usually bubbly and talkative blonde walked in to their shared room, plopped herself down on her bed, and let out a blissful sigh, clearly looking for a response to her unspoken greeting.

"You look happy Lu; did you finally make it official with Natsu?" She teased.

Lucy's face turned a bright pink as she sat up straight and huffed. "What? N-no! We aren't a thing Levy. I refuse to be the one to ask him and I don't think that he's even interested in me that way anyway." A soft pink glow creept up on her cheeks as she looked towards her feet. Her gloom only lasted mere seconds before she was all smiles again. "Buuut," she chirped, "he did invite me to a party this weekend at his fraternity and I plan on looking irresistible! There's no way he won't at least be looking but maybe I'll have him beggi-"

"You're so gross, Lu." The bluenette laughed, happily interrupting the the flow of words coming from her friend. She couldn't help but be happy for her, despite how bad she felt about not going out with her since they started college. Levy really just wanted nothing more than for her friend to be happy.

"You're just jealous." She retorted. "Luckily, you won't have to be for much longer because you are coming with me!"

Worry and discomfort snuck their way onto Levy's features as the same feeling found a place in her gut. Not only was she busy with schoolwork, but the prospects of a night out really wasn't what she wanted to deal with at the moment.

"I... I don't know about that, Luce. I've got a lot on my plate right now. Finals are in two weeks and I-"

"Will have a week and six days to study for it. Come on, Lev. We've almost made it through our first semester as hot college girls, and you haven't gotten out even once! I've let this go on for too long, Levy. You're coming with me to this party! We're going to go, have a few drinks, make all the boys wish they were with us, and have a good time. You're going to work yourself to death if you don't take a break."

The small girl paused to consider what her friend proposed. She was right after all; she hadn't come out with Lucy even once since they moved in together and she was going to make it up to her after finals, so why not now? "I suppose, but-"

"Great! You can borrow something of mine if you don't have anything to wear." She cheered, triumphant from their short-lived battle. A soft smile settled on her lips thanks to the blonde's offer.

"That's okay, Lu. I've got clothes. Besides, there's no way that I could fit into anything you own. If you haven't noticed, I'm lacking a bit in areas that you certainly aren't." She chuckled. Though she was joking, she knew she was speaking the truth.

"I guess you're right," The blonde sighed, "but I'll still help you choose what you wear! You're going to be a knockout! Trust me, all the boys will be staring at my little Levy!" She ended her sentence with her lips pursed as if she had been talking to a child. The kind of face that accompanied the voice you use when pinching an infant's chubby cheeks.

"Lucy! I-I don't think that I want them all to stare at me." Trailed off the petite girl.

The bustier of the two softened her features. "It'll be okay, Lev. I'll be with you the whole time and if it really does get too much for you, we can go home whenever you want. I just want you to relax and have some fun! Get your nose out of a book for once and enjoy the parts of college that don't include studying and working all day! I have a good feeling about this, Levy." Lucy comforted.

She knew everything would be okay if she had her best friend at her side, but she just couldn't shake away her nerves. She hadn't made any friends here yet, unless you count the teachers and her boss, but she's guessing you don't. Levy was just worried she was going to make a bad impression and ruin the night and possibly her best friend's chances with her pink-haired person of interest.

Lucy stood up to interrupt Levy's thoughts again with a unexpected but soft kiss on her forehead and a pat on her shoulder as if she could feel the anxiety growing within her. "It's going to be okay. Now get back to studying," she smiled, "you're going to miss out on it tomorrow and I know you like to be ahead." The blonde got up and strode out of the room with confidence, ecstatic about her victory.

 _I guess I'm staying up a little late tonight._ The thought flew into Levy's mind. At least she had some time to catch up for her soon to be missed day of studying beforehand; it makes getting back into work so much easier when you don't have extra work to do. After a moment of reflection over the recently ended conversation, she sighed and turned her attention back to her laptop and let her fingers fall back into place over the familiar keys.

 **Saturday: Party Time!**

The bluenette opened up her eyes and stretched her arms way above her head as she sat up in her cozy bed that morning. It didn't seem like today was any different from the others she had experienced so far at the University. It was nice and sunny outside, though she could tell it was cold beyond the window. She pulled her blanket over her shoulders and stood up to quietly head over to grab her things for a shower. The petite girl usually jump-started her mornings with a shower so she could be warm and refreshed before completing her tasks for the day.

After grabbing some new clothes and a towel, Levy snuck past her sleeping roommate who must have come home later than the poor girl had been up studying. She took a relatively quick shower and slowly made her way back to her room, refreshed and awake. As soon as she walked through her door, she was surprised to see her blonde bestie sitting up in bed, being as she usually doesn't wake up before noon most days.

"Good morning, Lev!" Lucy smiled brightly. "Today's the day we're going to make all the boys want you and hopefully one boy in particular want me." She gave Levy a cutesy wink as she tossed her covers aside. "Now I know it's early-"

"It's 9 already, Lucy, it's not that early."

"Maybe to YOU, Miss I-Always-Wake-Up-On-Time-And-Attend-All-Of-My-Classes. But for some of us, this is way early." Remarked the busty blonde with sass.

"Okay, fine. It's early. Continue." She insinuated for her friend to carry on with what she was saying before she had interrupted her.

"Anyway," she started, regathering her thoughts, "I know that it's early, but I was hoping that we could maybe go shopping today before the party? I still have to shower and get ready but I think it'd be nice if we got lunch and bought something new to wear tonight!" She looked at Levy's face and noticed a twinge of uncertainty. "I know we were just going to wear something normal, but I know I really want to knock the socks off of Natsu and I want to get you something too!"

After a few silent moments of thought had passed over her, Levy reluctantly agreed. "You've already got me going out so I guess heading out a little bit earlier wouldn't hurt."

"Yay!" She bounced, suddenly visibly excited. "I'll get ready then!" Lucy ran off towards the showers, cute outfit in hand.

Two hours later, they were off. They first headed to a diner for some lunch, then to the nearby mall to find their new party attire. After having only been in the mall for less than half an hour, Lucy found her perfect outfit first and quite easily. They had gone into a store that displayed a bunch of short dresses in their window, despite the weather growing colder by the day. The two of them had wandered in and Lucy found the perfect outfit only a minute later. It was a two piece that went together so well you'd think it was a dress. The skirt was a deep blue and had a thin gold line across the bottom and the top matched that beautiful blue with an assortment of those gold lines over the chest with a gorgeous white bow that was adorned by a large blue gem in the center at the neckline. Lucy's favorite part however was the identical white bow that hung just above her butt and the fact that it came with matching stockings. Lucy was smitten with the ensemble and purchased it without hesitation.

With the easier to shop for of the two girls out of the way, the difficult times commenced. They walked through store after store and found nothing the bookworm really liked. Lucy tried to help, but nothing she had picked out caught her eye. She didn't want it to be sexy or intricate like Lucy's chosen dress. She wanted something simple that spoke to her so she could continue to wear it on a regular basis and not waste Lucy's money. She had never been able to justify a purchase that she couldn't use more than once. The tiny woman knew she didn't ever have to worry about growing out of it at least, as she was beyond done growing. She'd just have to stay this small forever.

After what seemed like hours of searching, she glanced past the rack of clothes she was at and her eyes settled on a soft dress in the most beautiful yellow she had ever seen. It was a simple dress with a white bow at the top like Lucy's that tied around the neck delicately. Hooked to the hanger dangled two sleeves of the same color, both sides adorned with the same white bow as the neckline. Tired of searching, she made her way over to it and a smile rested on her lips.

"This one." She told her friend matter-of-factly. The way her eyes lit up over the dress made Lucy know better than to argue.

"You're going to look so good in that, Levy." She cooed, thankful they found something her stubborn friend loved. The price tag was easy on the eyes as well so she was not going to complain.

They purchased the dress and went ahead and made their way back to their dorm to get ready. Surprisingly, it had already gotten close to 4 o'clock though the outing didn't feel like it should have lasted that long. The pair knew that the party started at 7 so they began their return trip to their shared dorm posthaste.

Once they were finally back in their room, they quickly changed and fixed their makeup and hair to reflect their newly dawned outfits. Eventually pleased with their looks, they headed out to Natsu's fraternity. As soon as they headed out the door however, the bluenette's nerves settled back into their usual spot in her stomach.

"It's going to be super fun, Levy. You'll see." Lucy beamed, seemingly having picked up on her friend's worries. Levy took a deep breath as they approached the already booming building and walked inside. The place was huge and absolutely breathtaking- or would be without all of the people crammed inside of it. She desperately looked around for something to comfort herself when she finally saw a bookshelf. She knew that at the very least, she'd be able to find a book and hide until Lucy was ready to leave if she started to have a bad time.

"There he is! Come on, Lev!" Lucy grabbed her small arm and pulled her in the direction opposite of her safety bookshelf. She relinquished control to Lucy and reluctantly followed her down the large hallway.

"Natsu!" She squeaked, clearly dying to see his reaction to her new wardrobe.

"W-wow Lucy..." He blushed. From the look on his face, he loved it, and quite possibly her, not that he'd admit to that. "You look great!" He flashed a huge smile in her direction and the blush that grazed her cheeks was brighter than she'd ever seen on anyone. "So, I see you finally got Levy out of the dorm!"

"I know! I knew I would wear her down eventually." Turning to her friend, she gave her a nudge and a comforting smile. Levy smiled back, letting her know she was doing okay even if she didn't feel like she was.

She pulled Lucy close so she could whisper where Natsu wouldn't hear. "I'll give you guys some alone time." She said with an uncharacteristic wink. "I don't feel up to socializing yet, so I'll just be by the bookshelf in the front room, okay?" She hoped she'd let her go, just walking in here was a feat for the bookworm and she needed to hide behind the safe and encompassing spine of a publication for a bit before she was ready to really talk to people.

Lucy gave her small friend a faint nod with a light smile and softly reminded her to call her if she needed her as she'd only be in the next room. She agreed to her terms and watched her happily drag Natsu towards the drinks. Sighing after having won this round, Levy made her way to the bookshelf and scanned it for something she hadn't read before. Glancing around to be sure no one was watching, she grabbed a book to her liking and rushed to the corner of the room and sat on the floor away from the crowd. She opened it and began to immerse herself into the tale to distract her from her surroundings.

She read the contents on the thin, worn pages for what only felt like a couple minutes until she looked down to see she had a message from Lucy.

 _ **Lev! I think Natsu might actually like me**_ _ **?**_ _**someone tried to grab my butt and he decked them so hard! Anyway, I know it's only been an hour but I wanted to be sure you're ok! We're just in the next room if you want to join us?**_

 _ **Lu xxx**_

She smiled at her phone before she realized that it had indeed been a full hour that she'd been sitting on the floor. Slightly disappointed about leaving the writing, being only halfway through the story, the small bluenette decided to get up and join her undoubtedly worried friend.

 _Alright Lu, I'll be right there_

 _Lev xx_

She gently placed the book back on the shelf and swiftly jotted down the title into a note on her phone for future reference. Turning away from the shelf, she made herself as small as she could to push through the loud group of people. _They're unusually loud actually... what's going on?_ She sheepishly pushed through a few more people to get a look at what was causing the commotion.

Two men, one of them much larger than the other, seemed to be getting into a fight. Her stomach turned on itself as her nerves returned from their brief reading break. The larger man was littered with scars and piercings seemingly from head to toe. They covered his arms and face and gave him a dark presence. His long black hair stayed behind his shoulders without help and added to his fearsome gaze. The man he was glaring at was much smaller when you compared muscle but not too much shorter. His black hair matched that of the larger man but was significantly shorter in length. From the chanting of the circle of people who had gathered, she guessed their names were Gajeel and Rogue, though she had no inkling as to who was who.

The smaller man landed a decent punch right in the long-haired man's face. A shiver raced down her spine as she realized she couldn't stand to be here and that she needed to find Lucy fast. She tried to disregard the scuffle and push past people only for a passage to open for her. A gift from the Gods? Maybe.

She took the chance to run through the opening and immediately realized her mistake. The two men were the reason for the opening and just as she had entered the passageway, the smaller man dodged a punch that came straight for her. A gloved fist hit her small frame right underneath of her eye and she heard the whole room go quiet as she fell. Her face burned and she could barely see out of that eye but she knew she was crying. She felt hands on her and many different voices asking if she was okay. She silenced them all in her mind and rushed for the door. She heard the voice of the man who had struck her chasing after her as she attempted to sprint to safety.

"Hey! Come back here, Shorty! I didn't mean to hit ya! I'm sorry!" He-Gajeel, she had learned from the gasps and accusatory remarks- called.

He was fast but she couldn't bear look at him so she just kept running. Her legs unceremoniously carried her until she returned to her familiar dorm and crawled under the covers in an attempt to cry herself to sleep as quickly as possible. All she wanted was to avoid letting her thoughts linger on the event. She knew that he had stopped following her after a while but she also knew that if she slowed down, she might have stopped and bawled right there in the street. She pulled the covers over her head to block out the noise and the glaring lights of the streetlamps outside. She had closed her eyes and tried to forget the pain radiating from her eye when she heard the door swing open, revealing Lucy and Natsu and thankfully, no Gajeel.

"Levy, oh my God!" She cried, "I heard the room get quiet and all I saw was you running; what happened?" I could hear the tears behind her voice begging to come out.

"It's nothing. Just some stupid boys in some stupid fight and stupid me ended up at the receiving end of a fist." The broken girl sobbed, mostly angry but with a tinge of hurt.

"It's not nothing. I am so sorry that I made you come to that dumb party, Lev. I won't ever make you go somewhere ever again. Oh Levy, I'm so sorry." Lucy finally let the tears fall from her eyes as she held her companion's hand to her head. Nastu's arms slipped around her waist and the bluenette could tell from his silence that he was growing angry as well.

"Who was the one to punch you? Rogue or Gajeel?" He demanded.

"Gajeel... I think..." Levy managed to squeak out.

"I'm going to make him regret that." His voice went hard. "No one hurts my friends, not even my friends." Natsu removed his arms from Lucy's waist, curling swiftly back from where he came and sped out of the dorm, gleaming with determination and purpose.

"He didn't mean it! I don't think..." Levy called after him. After receiving no response, Lucy leaned through the doorway to yell her own thoughts to him.

"Natsu! Please be careful!" She begged, wanting to follow but knowing her place was with her friend. She returned to her spot at the edge of her bed and began to look over her injuries. Luckily, Gajeel had just missed her eye and only busted open her cheek. It was already puffy, hindering her vision, but at least she wouldn't have a full on black eye.

"I know that the boys get into fights, but they aren't really bad people." Lucy said, out of the blue, her face turned to the floor. "I just want you to know that they aren't bad guys." Worry clouded her eyes and she dropped the subject as she got up to grab the first aid kit.

Lucy cleaned the wound and put some bandages over it and they never spoke of that night again. She doesn't know if she never brought it up out of guilt or respect, but the bookworm gladly tried to keep that awful night and that large, dark man out of her thoughts.


	2. Nowadays

**A/N: So here's the second chapter! This is what I've got so far so please read and review! :D Thanks so much for taking the time to read! ^_^ Sorry it's so short :C but I'll have more to post soon!**

 **Nowadays:**

Many years after that horrible night, Levy received a job offer from the publishing company of her dreams. It was a paid internship, but it was a start. She knew she would have to start from the bottom rung to get anywhere, but at least she felt like she was finally getting to where she needed to be. She found her first apartment from online ads and officially squared away her living arrangements. Today was the day Levy felt like she was really starting her life.

"Finally!" she exclaimed, bringing her very small moving van to a halt outside of her new apartment complex. She knew it was small, but it was the perfect size for her, especially since she shouldn't be home too much because of her new job.

Levy closed and locked the front door of the van and made her way to the back to get to her stuff. She flung the doors open and sighed as she saw the very small amount of items that she owned. She knew that she didn't have much time to get her stuff inside before it got dark, so she hurried and grabbed the small boxes labeled 'kitchen' that were placed towards the doors of the van. The bluenette made her way up four stories to her new place and set down her boxes outside of the entryway. She unlocked the creaky, rustic door and swung it open to reveal her new and not too impressive living quarters. Sighing, she brought in the small boxes and placed them on the dirty kitchen counter. _Great,_ _I'm going to have to really clean this place before I can even get settled._ She thought to herself, annoyed.

The small woman headed back downstairs and out to the van again. Taking several trips, she got it down to just her bed that was left. Her bed was probably the only big thing that she owned because she couldn't stand sleeping on a twin sized as it made her feel too alone. The bigger bed and larger covers gave her something to cuddle and made her feel better, so hey, if she's got to carry this thing up a few flights of stairs for better sleeps, she was okay with that.

Levy took the bed frame up easily as it disassembles for easier travel. Then came the most difficult, albeit final, thing she had to take upstairs: the mattress. She took a deep breath and lifted but it just wouldn't budge. Her knees were weak from all of the sudden lifting and she began to wonder if she could actually make it up to the fourth floor. After many attempts to lift it out of the van, she decided it would be better to just push it out. She lost the ability to care if anything got dirty after seeing the condition of the apartment so she knew she would probably have to wipe this down again anyway.

Taking a deep breath, she gave a big push from the back end of the mattress. Just as she was about to cease pushing, the mattress slipped over the edge of the doorway and fell unceremoniously to the ground.

"Yes!" the scrawny woman yelled, thrilled that she was finally making progress. Her smile faded as she realized that she only accomplished a small part of her goal and that she still had to make it up to the fourth floor. Letting out a big sigh, she began pushing again. As she finally made it into the lobby, it dawned on her what time it was and that she only had about fifteen minutes to get the moving van back or else she had to keep it for the night with nowhere to park it and pay for the extra day.

Levy swiftly turned to front desk to speak to the doorman. "Would you please be able to keep an eye on my mattress? I only have to return the van but I'm almost out of time and I know I can't make it if I'm dragging that upstairs..." the odd girl trailed off as he nodded graciously.

"Of course," he smiled, "it is no problem, Miss."

The azure-haired girl smiled back and thanked him as she rushed back out to the vehicle that was currently stationed by the front entrance. Climbing into the front seat, she fastened her seatbelt and peeled out of the parking lot. The short drive seemed to take forever but she came to a halt at the company's lot just in time to safely return the vehicle and avoid any extra fees.

After having gotten rid of the convenient transportation, she began her walk back to the apartments. The drive seemed short, but the walk was much longer. The woman began to worry as she came to the realization that it had already gotten dark outside. She never used to be nervous being out late at home whether she was with Lucy or not, but being in a new town, especially one as big as Magnolia, built up her fears of something happening. She tried to stay focused on her walk by running through her favorite stories in her head as she winded her way back to her new home. Sadly, nothing seemed to subdue the frightening thoughts ebbing into her head.

The bluenette nervously peered into every alleyway that she passed, trying to prove to herself that there was nothing lurking around the corners. The quick glances however only seemed to fuel the dark and scary thoughts that came running out of those concrete passages. Thankfully, none of those thoughts were real that night and she saw the outline of her building just a few blocks away.

Levy picked up speed to make the journey end sooner and she quickly came up to safety. Upon entering the lobby, she was greeted with no sign of the mattress that she had asked the doorman to watch over.

"Were you watching the mattress?" Levy rushed, dreading the idea of having to get a new bed as that would require even more lifting, not to mention money.

"Of course!" Chirps the doorman, clearly unfazed by the extreme lack of her mattress being there. "A nice young man on your floor was on his way out and when he asked about it, I informed him that it belonged to a small girl whom had trouble bringing it inside and that you would be returning shortly. He has taken it up to your door so you need only to drag it inside your room and not up the stairs." He proudly finished.

The blue-haired woman blinked, astounded. _Someone helped?_ "I, uh... thank you. Who brought it up?" She asked.

"A Mr. Redfox. I am sure you will see him around, Miss. Have a good night and try not to wear yourself out making yourself at home." The doorman politely informed her.

 _What an odd last name..._ The girl thought as she headed up the stairs, mattress-less.

As she reached her door, she saw the bed resting against the wall beside it. She was hoping to see a note or something telling her which room he was in so she may at least thank him but she was met with nothing. She supposed that this Mr. Redfox will have to be found out at a later date because she was exhausted. Levy swung her door open one last time and slowly dragged the massive mattress into her room.

With everything inside, Levy began the tedious task of cleaning her entire apartment. She started with the kitchen, wiping out all of the cupboards and the fridge so that she could get all of the food put away before what little bit she had goes bad. After the kitchen, she deep cleaned the bathroom. As the poor girl scrubbed the tub and the sink, she saw that the place wasn't so bad after all. The tub was nice and big and she just knew that it would be the most relaxing place after a long day of work. Once the rest of the bathroom was clean, she swept and mopped all of the floors in her tiny new home and took a short break. She didn't dare to look at the clock that she hadn't yet put up and got back to work as soon as she had stretched out.

Then came the part that really makes it home: her loved belongings. Thinking ahead, she set the bed up first so that she could pass out as soon as she finished putting everything up. After that, she assembled her desk and her bookshelf then filled its shelves with all of her favorites. Once the important things were dealt with, she glanced over to the last box that she knew was packed with her pictures and memories.

Kneeling over the box, Levy slowly cut the tape and gazed inside. With the cardboard flaps out of her view, she pulled out an old picture of her with Lucy and felt the tears sting at the back of her eyes. Levy hadn't really ever been without her best friend and it was odd to not have her by her side. Droplets of emotion fell from her eyes as she picked up her graduation cap that she had decorated. All of a sudden she remembered all that they have been through and hoped that no matter what, she could make her proud.

The bluenette wiped the tears from her eyes and hung up a few of the pictures before tucking the box away into the closet. Lastly, she set up the clock and winced as she saw that it was almost two in the morning. _How could that much time have passed?_ On her way back to her bed, the sleepy girl finally turned off the lights and set her alarm for six. Curling up under the covers, she brought her spare pillow close and held it to her chest. For some reason, tonight, she still felt alone.

 **BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP B-THWOP!** The poor alarm clock didn't stand a chance this morning. Levy rubbed her eyes for a good three minutes before forcing herself out of her fluffy confines. After having herself a small bowl of cereal, she brush her teeth, fixed her hair and makeup, and changed. She managed to finish getting ready by seven, providing her the perfect amount of time to walk to work without having to rush. The previous nights' worries of lurkers faded in the warm rays of sun passing through her window.

Levy hurriedly gathered her things into her bag and rushed out the door and down the few flights of stairs that lead into the lobby. Greeting the current doorman, she made her way through the huge front doors and out onto the sidewalk. After exiting building, she pushed her blue coils of hair behind her ears, plugged in her headphones, and began the long walk to her first day on the job.

After what felt like miles to her sore feet, Levy approached the tower of a building and meekly walked inside. As soon as the doors closed behind her, it started feeling more like they had been portals. Her surroundings zoomed by as the bustle of people with purpose rushed past to take care of their unending tasks. The bluenette took in a deep breath and maneuvered her way to what she believed to be the front desk. Seeing the soft woman at the table calmed her nerves some and she took her chance in the break of people to go up to her. Her stark white hair was not a sign of her age but merely of chance and added to her radiating beauty. Levy waited until she looked up from her computer to greet her and ask where she was supposed to be.

"Uh, hello. My name is Levy. I'm new here and I-"

"Oh, Levy! Great! My name is Mirajane but you can call me Mira, sweetie. You can come to me for literally anything you need around here, okay?" She smiled sweetly. "Now, you will be working for Freed up on the seventeenth floor. It will mostly be running to get him things but you will need your access pass to get in and out of his 'office'." She made quotations with her fingers over that word but Levy was too flustered by her barrage of information to question it. The pale haired woman leaned down into her desk and handed Levy a small badge with her information and a barcode on it. "Here you go! Now, company policy is you get one free replacement if you lose this one, but after that, it has to come out of your paycheck. They aren't much, don't worry, but if everyone lost theirs everyday, it'd get real pricey, don't you think?" Mirajane smiled at her again before waving her off. "You had better hurry up there, Miss Levy! Freed doesn't like bad first impressions!" Her smile masked her seriousness but Levy made her way to the elevator as fast as she could all the same.

The ride up was swift and soon the doors opened up to the massive open space that was Freed's 'office'. As soon as she exited the elevator, she was greeted by big glass doors with a scanner on the side that she instinctively placed her newly acquired pass under. The doors opened and she shuffled inside, amazed by the massive expanse of work area. Inside, there were quite a few desks that created a pathway to a separate room with no door. In those desks sat a bunch of editors that she snuck past to make her way to the separate room. Lightly knocking on the wall where there was no door, the small woman attempted to gain the attention of the man in the chair.

"Ah, Miss... Levy, is it? What a cute name. It's nice to see that you are punctual person." He smiled. With his beaming grin facing her, all of her fears ebbed away and she allowed herself to smile back.

"Thank you, sir. It's nice to meet you."

"Oh, no need to call me sir. We are all friends on this floor. If we don't all work together, nothing gets done! So please, just call me Freed."

Levy's smile grew and she instantly became thankful for whom she was placed under. She could not have imagined working for someone who didn't appreciate the hard work of others. "Okay, Freed. I am happy to be here."

"Would you kindly take this flash drive up to Laxus on the top floor? He needed this today and I can't make it up there myself. And please bring me a coffee on your way back, or I might not make it through this day." He joked, handing his new employee the flash drive and sending her on her way. _I really think that I'm going to like it here. Hopefully I move up fast though..._ She thought, passing by all of the busy workers at their desks.

Her first day passed rather quickly and before she knew it, she was being let go for the day. When she reached the main floor for the last time that day, she headed over to the front desk again.

"Hi, Mira!" The bookworm chirped, genuinely happy with the outcome of her first shift.

"Hi, Levy! How was your first day?" Smiled the sweet woman as she packed up her things.

"It was actually a lot better than I was expecting it to be. I was ready for some slave driver boss constantly yelling at me for something, so I can't complain." Levy joked.

Mira smiled back at her again and walked with her to the door. "Here, I made sure I printed your schedule for the month." She handed her new coworker a piece of paper that she quickly folded away into her bag.

"Thanks Mira! I think I'm going to like it here."

"I'm glad! You seem really nice, so I'm happy to have you here." Her smile never faded. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Levy!" The white-haired girl strode away in the opposite direction Levy was heading and gave her an enthusiastic wave.

Levy smiled to herself as she began her walk home, running over her day in her mind. She was really thankful for this job and all the opportunities she knew were around the corner for her and she just couldn't help but to be proud of herself for how far she had come. Her walk seemed much shorter than it had that morning and she managed to come up to her new home just before sunset.

Entering the already familiar doors calmed her and gave her a sense of home. She started up the stairs to her floor, taking her time as her legs resumed their forgotten aches. She breached the top of the steps and took a moment to stretch before walking down the long hall to her room. As she approached the entrance to her apartment, she realized she could hear the sounds of arguing across the hall.

Levy paused at her door to try to figure out exactly where it was coming from when the door on the opposite side of hers flew open and she saw a woman with the same hair as her own stomp out.

"Juvia will come back when you decide to be nice!" The woman shouted, turning to her as her words came to an end. Levy's face grew hot and she tried to turn away to find her key and luckily enough, the blue-haired woman had walked away by the time she had closed her shaky hands around it. Levy glanced around and noticed she had left the door open so she peered in from where she was standing in attempt to sneak a glimpse of the poor soul on the receiving end of those shouts.

"Oi! Woman! At least shut the door on yer way out!" The voice hit the small woman somewhere that she couldn't place. Anxiety filled her stomach as her ears caught the sounds of approaching footsteps. Levy quickly try to get her key into the lock but the man was in the doorway before she could stop fumbling.

Levy looked back and noticed the man looking at her with a concentrated face. "Sorry about that, Shorty. You my new neighbor?"

The odd nickname unclouded her memory and hit her harder than she would have liked. Gajeel. Gajeel, the man from so long ago that she had tried to put out of her mind, was her neighbor. Panic filled her throat and she began rushing to get her door open.

"Hey, what are ya in such a hurry for? I don't bite." His smile faded as realization dawned on him and he recognized her damned distinguishable blue hair. "Wait... do I know you?"

"Uh... no. No, you don't." Levy stated sharply. _Damn key, why won't you go in?_

"Are you the girl...? Oh no..." His voice cut off and she heard him close himself off back into his apartment. She finally got her door open and went inside as rapidly as she possibly could. _No. No way. This is impossible. It can't be him. Please don't let it be him. Oh Gods, don't let it be him._

Levy leaned against her door and slid down it as she curled into herself. She never wanted to have to face him again. She knew that what had happened so long ago was an accident, but she couldn't get past how much his fearsome glare had really been etched into her mind. Knowing the fist before the man makes it hard to forget the fear.

The bluenette took a few deep breaths and forced herself to stand back up. She tried to calm herself down, knowing there was no real reason she should be afraid of this man, when a knock on her door sharply pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, Shrimp?" The gravelly voice echoed through Levy's bones. "I'm sorry about what I did. You don't have to answer me or nothing, but I figured I'd say it. G'night."

The footsteps faded into the creaking of a closing door and she was left to her own thoughts once again. Had he really just apologized to her? Did he really remember such an insignificant event? The shock set in and the slight woman began to feel some long unnoticed weight lift from her shoulders. Despite knowing the punch from many years ago was never meant for her, the sting of it had never really went away. The dark man whose ferocious ways that have long occupied a corner of her mind fell away into the sight of a man, broken, and she was no longer afraid.


	3. New Beginnnings

**A/N: Hey lovelies! :3 I got a surprising amount of response from the first 2 chapters so I went ahead and finished the third one for you! This one is a bit longer than the last two so I hope you guys like it! Chapter 4 might not be up for a bit since I'm starting work now and I'm in a bit of a writer's block spot with how I'm getting from where I am to where I need to be, but I will try to keep pushing through for you guys! I'm so glad you all like it so far and I hope this chapter makes you happy! ;) Please keep letting me know what you think because it definitely fuels me to keep trucking! Thank you so much for reading and I can't wait to give you guys more! Also, I haven't been saying it, but I, regrettably of course, do not own Fairy Tail. :(**

 **New Beginnings:**

Over the next few days, Levy awoke each morning feeling lighter than she had in years. She got into the swing of things at her job and adjusted to her new morning routines. Every time she opened her door, her tummy would flutter as she thought of the man across the hall. Ever since they had their encounter, it felt like he had been avoiding her. Not that they owed each other anything, especially the poor bluenette, but she didn't like the idea of him going out of his way as to not run into her.

This morning was different, however, as it was Levy's first official day off since beginning her new job. She crawled out of her warm cocoon and slipped into something comfortable. The woman usually didn't end up sleeping in her pajamas since it gets too hot wrapped up in her blankets and she would just sleep without the blankets and stay in her pjs but that's not nearly as comforting.

Levy tried to start every morning with a decent breakfast to feel fueled up no matter what her day entailed, so she headed straight for the kitchen. She wandered over to the cupboards, but when she opened them, she was met with a rather barren storage compartment.

Suddenly, the busybody realized that her demanding occupation had left her with next to zero down time to do even the simplest things like shop for groceries. She sighed as she changed once again and prepared herself to head out into the world on her only day off in the foreseeable future. All the bluenette wanted to do today was read and maybe relax in the bath but alas, her sanctioned lazy day must be stripped from her.

After making sure she seemed presentable enough to head to the store, Levy threw her bag over her shoulder and sauntered out into the hall. As she closed and locked her door, she stole a moment to glance in the direction of Gajeel's apartment. Strangely disappointed, she lowered her head and sighed as she walked away from their homes, off put by the incessant annoyance growing within her.

Levy grumbled to herself and made her way down the few flights of stairs and out into the lobby. Despite her previous irritation, she still gave the doorman a smile.

"Good morning, Miss Levy! Do you ever take a day off?" He joked as the overly-worked woman swiftly made her way towards the door.

"Actually, today is my day off!" Levy confessed. "I just really need to go shopping. See you later!" She kept their interaction brief as she just wanted to be home again already so she might resume her much-needed lazy day.

Keeping a relatively fast pace, the bluenette made her way to the store a few blocks away. Within minutes, she came up to the entrance of the small shopping center and trudged inside. After spending a good chunk of time wandering around and finding everything that she could possibly need, Levy finished up and headed over to the checkout line. The woman behind the register quickly scanned her items and stored them in a few paper bags. Being so small, she struggled to pick them up, but managed to find a way to hold them all as she ended her outing for the day.

With limited view from the stuffed bags in her arms, Levy maneuvered herself back to the apartments. As she came up to the main entryway, she could hear the doorman laugh to himself and make his way over to hold the door open for her to slip inside.

"You sure you've got all that, Miss?" He snorted.

"Uh... yeah, probably." Laughed the petite woman in return. He gave her an uncertain look but trusted her nonetheless.

"Alright, just be careful!" The doorman called after her, watching her cautiously start her ascent.

Levy carefully placed one foot after the other, not being able to see where her feet were landing. After a few steps, she got the hang of it despite what her nerves were telling her. Luckily enough, she made it to the top of the stairs without incident when she was greeted by the sounds of fast footsteps. She figured that she was close enough to make trips to retrieve her items if necessary, so she set her large bags down onto the hallway floor.

"Damned cat! Just get back inside!" The words came from Gajeel as he ungraciously chased after a small black cat. The familiar nerves welled up in her throat before she shoved them back down, knowing they have no reason to be present.

"Need some help?" Levy managed to laugh. The sound of her voice got both Gajeel's and the cat's attention and the small feline beelined his way straight to her. The elfin woman knelt down and held her arms out for the little kitty. He instantly curled up into her lap and she held him close as she scrambled back onto her feet.

"I didn't peg you as a cat person, Gajeel." Smiled Levy, walking closer.

"Well, don't judge a book by its cover, eh?" He joked behind a defensive tone. "How on Earth do you know my name, anyhow? It's not like we were ever properly introduced." He scoffed.

"I uh..." Her voice wavered and lost it's confidence. She supposed she had never even really confirmed his name all those years ago so she didn't really know how she remembered. The bluenette had tried to put him out of her mind so much that she guessed the name just really stuck with the memory.

"It's alright, Shorty. You got it right, so what does it matter."

"Levy." she dared to say, shortly.

"Huh?"

"My name. I knew yours but I'm assuming you don't know mine. My name is Levy." The teeny woman said matter-of-factly.

"Neat. Can I have my cat?" He retorted.

"What's his name?" Levy inquired as she handed him the tiny animal. The cat felt larger while she was holding him, but returned to his previous tiny appearance in Gajeel's muscular arms.

"Pantherlily." He replied, gently tossing the cat back into his apartment and closing the door so he wouldn't get out again.

"That's a cute name." Smiled Levy, returning to her groceries that had been momentarily abandoned on the carpet. Struggling as much as she had in the store, she tried picking them all up at once, resulting in one of them tumbling from her grasp and spilling all over the ground. She sighed and set the other bags back down as she knelt to pick up her sprawled-out rations.

"Here, let me carry those." His voice so close to her sent shivers down her spine and she daringly glanced up to meet his eyes. She paused for a moment before feeling her face get hot and snapped her head back to her task of picking up the mess that she had made.

'Uh... thank you" Levy said softly, carrying only the bag she had spilled as he followed her to her door. She nervously unlocked it with her free hand and pushed it open, providing him a full view of her rather unimpressive suite. Levy quickly set her bag down on the counter and he did the same. The blush crept its way back onto her cheeks and she realized that they were both just awkwardly standing in her kitchen in silence.

"Thanks again..." She retorted rather quietly. The bluenette looked up at him to see him holding his hand to his chin in concentration, completely ignoring what she had so meagerly dared to say.

"Can you even reach those cupboards, short stuff?" He asked, remaining straight-faced.

"W-what? Of course I can!" Levy huffed, caught off guard and shocked at his audacity. She felt that she needed to prove to him that she didn't always need help, so she pushed herself up onto the counter to open the top shelves. "See?" she said rather sharply.

Gajeel let out a laugh and covered his eyes, confusing the poor girl. "What?" Levy snipped.

"You gotta get up on the counter? That's hardly reaching it." He answered with the laugh still in his voice. The sound of his inviting tone called the warmth back into her cheeks as she slipped off of the counter.

"I reach things just fine." Levy said as proudly as she could. She opened her eyes to see his normally stoic face feathered in the same pink glow that had previously graced her own features. "What now?"

"Your uh..." He pointed down and her eyes followed, catching sight of what caused the shift in mood. When the tiny woman had jumped down from the counter, her dress had gotten caught on one of the drawers, revealing her light pink panties. The heat hit her face much harder than before and she quickly pulled it from where its caught, ripping it up the side and not solving her problem in the slightest.

"S-stupid Gajeel! Go! Please!" She squeaked, trying to cover herself as she pushed him towards the door. He obliged and allowed her to shut him out of her apartment. Before she could even remove her ruined dress, a knock on the door rang through her house.

"I didn't really see nothing." Called Gajeel from his side of her door, trying to offer her some comfort. It didn't help much since she knew for a fact that he did, indeed, see everything. "But uh, if you need help carrying stuff again just let me know. Have a good night." Levy listened as he walked back to his suite and she slid herself down the door, the sound of her heartbeat in her ears drumming through all other sounds.

She took a few deep breaths and wondered why that had to happen to her. _Just as I thought I might be able to handle talking to him, I had to go and show him my underwear._ The sound of a door opening caused a break in her thoughts and she placed her ear against her own to try to listen. There was a slight push on her door and the footsteps carried themselves back across the hall and faded once again into the creaking of nearby hinges.

Curiosity took her by the hand and without changing, she opened her path into the hall and to see a note taped up over the peep hole. Sure to be fast, she tore it down and shut her door. Without hesitation, Levy leaned against the wall and pulled the note into view.

 **I know you just got food but I feel bad about what happened.**

 **Dinner? I'll make it anyway, just come over around 6**

 _An invitation? Is he really inviting me over for dinner because he feels bad for seeing my underwear?_ Her heartbeat roared in her ears again and her tummy tumbled. Quickly, the bookworm grabbed a pen from her desk and flipped over the note.

 **I'll be there : )**

Levy scrawled her reply and carefully peeled the tape off of the paper so that she could switch the side it was on. The bluenette rushed back out and placed it on his door, giving a loud knock before speeding back to the safety of her apartment. She only barely made it inside and out of view before Gajeel swung his own door open. She watched through the peephole as he tore the note back down. He gave it a faint smile and held it to his chest as he walked back into his home.

 _I'm having dinner with Gajeel._ The thought solidified in her head as she remembered her torn dress and unpacked groceries. Still feeling flustered, she unloaded all of the items from their bags and tucked them away into their respective places throughout the kitchen. With all of her food packed away, she realized that she hadn't even eaten breakfast and with it only being almost noon, she decided to make herself a bowl of ramen to hold herself over until dinner.

Tummy full and nerves still eating away at her, Levy resorted to her warm tub to soak her worries away. She let the water fill up the bath and carefully climbed inside. Keeping her face just above the water, the overworked woman let herself lose track of time. Over an hour later she forced herself out of the tub and wrapped herself in a soft towel. She sat down on her bed and grabbed one of her favorite books to occupy her time. The azure-haired woman wanted nothing more than to drown out the ticking of the clock as each click felt like it was hitting her hard in the chest. She knew that she had no reason to be nervous but watching the clock only made it harder to stay calm.

The bookworm immersed herself into an old classic and chipped away at the time between herself and the cause of her nerves. Cursing her reading abilities, Levy finished the book just before five and decided to go ahead and get ready. She ran her brush through her now air-dried hair and fixed the makeup that had worn away in the bath. Getting out of the towel, she grabbed new underwear, knowing she couldn't stand the thought of staying in panties she knew he had seen. She finally landed herself in front of her open closet doors and allowed the panic to seep in as she realized she didn't know what she could possibly wear to an impromptu dinner.

 _Is a dress too formal? I mean I'm only going over there for dinner. But a shirt and shorts? I don't know..._ Levy grazed over her limited array of clothing and smiled as her eyes landed on the familiar yellow fabric. She knew that this was the dress that she was hit in, but she also found it fitting that it was the one she had technically met him in. She decided to wear it as she no longer wanted it to be associated with bad memories of a good man.

Levy carefully slipped into the dress and gave herself a once over in the mirror. She smiled at herself and forced the air to enter her lungs. _It's just dinner. It isn't anything extreme and he's just trying to make up for this morning. It'll be okay._ The worrywort sighed once again and glanced over to the clock. It informed her that it was only half past five and she still had thirty whole minutes before she was supposed to be across the hall. _Is it bad to come early? Would he be upset if I came over now to help?_

The bluenette stopped herself from overthinking and decided that she should actually go over there and help since it was at his place and they weren't using her supplies. She slipped past her door without another thought and locked it behind her, forcing herself to carry on.

Levy braved the couple steps and raised her hand to knock. After a short pause, she forced her knuckles to connect with the wood and felt time slow as she waited for Gajeel to answer. After a few agonizing seconds, the door gave way to a frantic-looking Gajeel with the small cat tucked under his arm.

"I know I'm early, but I thought I would see if you needed any help." Levy smiled, noticing his surprised expression and 'Kiss The Cook' apron he had tied around his waist. She tried to suppress a giggle but it managed to escape her lips anyway.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Come in." He said hesitantly, holding the door open for the small woman. "You look good. You didn't have to dress up, you know." He set Pantherlily back on the ground and raised his arm, shyly rubbing the back of his neck as he closed the door behind her.

"Oh... well this isn't very dressed up. I mean yeah, it's a dress, but I wear this all the time." Levy corrected, somehow hiding the blush that dotted her cheeks.

"Whatever you say, Shorty." He dismissed with a little hint of a grin tugging at the corner of his lips. He led her into the living room of his immensely different apartment and motioned for her to sit on the couch that seemed way too big for just one person to own. Tentatively, Levy let herself drop onto the plush seat and she spared a glance in his direction as he silently made his way back into the kitchen. Pantherlily immediately jumped into her lap and she placed her hand on his head to give him some well received behind the ear scratches.

The awkwardness of her unexpected and preemptive arrival suddenly began to fill the air as Levy desperately tried to find something on which to focus. Her gaze slid across the room trying not to focus on anything she shouldn't but nothing even really caught her eye. The whole apartment was really clean despite Gajeel seeming like the type to not have time to stay tidy and no matter how much she looked, there weren't even any pictures or anything of value hung up or placed anywhere in view. Thoughts of how lonely he must be flashed through her head and she quickly pushed them back out; if he was just lonely he could easily fix that himself.

Clanking noises accommpanied by the sounds of sizzling brought Levy's attention away from the barren apartment and back towards the fact that the large man was currently in the kitchen making her dinner. She gazed at the door that had swung shut behind Gajeel not that long ago and realized that she had come over early to help and now wasn't even helping!

Quickly trying to brush off her embarrassment and rudeness, Levy placed the cat on the couch and sauntered to the kitchen door with determination plastered on her mug. The door swung open under her fingers and the smell that had been hidden behind their confines finally were allowed to waft to her nose. She breathed in the savory smell and permitted her lips to give way to a smile. Her eyes closed and Gajeel turned his head, noticing the small bluenette entering the kitchen.

"You got bored with snoopin' so you thought you'd peek in on dinner, huh?" Gajeel grinned wickedly, forcing the heat to rise on Levy's features. As if noticing her reaction to his words, he spoke again. "Don't worry, Shrimp, it's pretty much ready." The smart grin on his mouth held its ground as he reached into the top cupboard for their plates. Still blocking her view of the food, he scooped out their servings and put a lid back over the pots. Placing forks on the rims of the plates he lifted them way above her head and gave her another grin.

Huffing at the clear anticipation he was trying to build Levy asked, "So what's for dinner?"

"Just wait a second there Shorty, you're gonna spoil your taste buds soon enough." The smirk was in his voice now. "Take any drink you want from the fridge and grab me that whisky, would ya?" He kept the plates high as he used his rear to push open the door behind them and slip into the living room.

After a moment of hesitation, Levy regained her senses and quickly walked over to the fridge to grab what he had asked for. Grazing over what he had in his refridgerator, she decided to just have water and quickly filled herself a glass. Grabbing a second cup and the whiskey he wanted, she pushed her way into the living room after him.

The aroma hit her nose again and she wound her way around the couch to claim a spot on the opposite side of him. The bluenette gave Gajeel a smile and set their beverages down next to her food, finally being allowed to see what had been made.

"It's roasted garlic asiago chicken on some cheesy penne noodles." His pointy grin returning to its rightful place among his features. He answered the question before she had even asked and her mouth watered at the response.

"You didn't seem like the type to be able to cook something that looks this tasty." Levy stated, eyes growing bigger just by looking at her plate.

"Well it doesn't just look good, Shorty, you're supposed to eat it y'know." He smirked at her again and took the first bite of their dinner. Anticipation getting the better of her, Levy dug into the enticing food with as much restraint as she could muster. She closed her eyes to savour the amazing taste and was met with an odd laugh from the man across from her.

"No way am I having whiskey with this and you're having water. C'mon Shorty what else do you want to drink?" It was a loaded question and it caught Levy of guard.

"I uh.. I don't usually drink but I guess I like wine quite a bit." Responded the small woman, beginning to blush lightly.

"Tch. Shoulda known you like wine; damn. Ever had whiskey before?"

A bit of sweat beaded above her brow and she nervously replied, "Well not really… I've only ever had wine and those stereotypical 'girly drinks.'"

His smile seemed to grow even more wicked by the second. "Well if you take just one drink of this without makin' a face or somethin', I promise I'll buy some good wine for next time."

 _Next time? He already wanted to do this again? They hadn't even gotten through dinner yet!_ "Fine, Gajeel. You're on." At the acceptance of the challenge, the nervousness she had felt before ebbed away. Though you wouldn't think it, Levy McGarden did very much so enjoy a challenge. Her own smirk grew as she carefully took the bottle from Gajeel's outstretched hand.

The petite woman brought the liquor close to her lips and dared to take in a small breath, hoping to get a judgement on how hard it would be to hide its strength from her face. Her nose was hit with a strong pang of pain and her hopes died a bit. It seemed to be very very strong, something she should have known before if someone as huge as Gajeel had been drinking it.

Putting on a strong face and closing her eyes to avoid his doubtful and challenging gaze, she lifted the spirits to her lips and allowed the deep tasting liquid to pass them. The taste was unbearably strong and it burned the back of her throat unlike any liquor she had ever tasted. It burned in her nose and stung at her eyes but she kept the strong appearance over her actual fragile expression underneath. She held it in her mouth for a moment, hoping to adjust to the burn before it made its unpleasant descent into her stomach. Taking a short breath in through her nose, she swallowed the fierce liquor and forced the muscles in her face to not give her away. After a few moments of stunned silence, Levy allowed her watery eyes to open and sent a glare that was dripping with fearsome satisfaction in Gajeel's direction.

His mouth was slightly hanging open in silent astonishment before he blinked it away to replace it with a look of pride. "Well damn, Shrimp. I didn't think you had it in ya! Guess I owe you that wine, unless of course you would rather just drink this." His lips curled into a tempting grin as he continued to challenge his guest.

Though she had passed the unexpected challenge, she didn't necessarily enjoy the taste of the whiskey. "I think I'll pass for now." She confessed, returning to the momentarily forgotten food on her plate.

"Fair enough." He chuckled; his laugh distinctly settling into a homey place among her thoughts.

Gajeel turned on the television and switched it to some station that played cartoons and they sat and watched silently as they ate. He drank the whiskey at a much smoother rate than she had and sooner than she would have liked, her plate was empty and her stomach felt full. Without the distraction of eating, she suddenly started to feel the awkwardness of the room around her. She had re-positioned when he had turned on the T.V. so she could see the screen better and she was now on the same side of the couch as he was.

Levy didn't realize how close she had gotten while they had been eating but now their closeness hung in the air as an unspoken boundary. Clearing her throat, she tried to shift her weight away from him as sneakily as she could in hopes he hadn't noticed how close they had been.

"Goin' somewhere, Shorty?" Gajeel panned, tearing his eyes from the screen to throw a glance at the bluenette leaning away from him. The sudden break in the air hit Levy like a clap on the back and a blush painted itself over her cheeks.

"Uh, yeah… I uhm, I really should be heading back over so I can get to bed. I've got work in the morning." She sighed, not believing herself that she needed to go since she had really began to enjoy sitting with him.

He didn't seem to notice her inner turmoil but let a boozy smile grace his lips. Gajeel stood up and stretched, raising his arms way above his head and revealing a small bit of his stomach. Levy tried her hardest not to stare at the bit of skin that peaked under his shirt but the lines on his stomach drew her in and she couldn't look away. She clearly knew that he had a lot of muscle but from the slip of his top she had been graced with a view of what was probably the most amazing V-line she would ever see. The sight was cut short by the shirt falling back down as he bent to the table to pick up their dishes. She sheepishly looked up at him and was taken off guard when she was met with a tempting stare. He allowed his smirk to return to his lips and he strolled back into the kitchen. Levy stood up after him and physically shook the blush off of her cheeks. Standing up as straight as she could, she strode to the kitchen as well.

"Here, I'll do the dishes before I go; it's only fair." Offered the bluenette.

"No way. I wouldn't be treating you to dinner if I made you do chores. Now get on home, you got work, remember?" The comment was sweet but firm, leaving Levy with no room to argue.

"I suppose so." She sighed reluctantly. "Thank you so much for dinner, Gajeel." The small woman smiled wide and closed her eyes, gathering her hands together.

"Gihee! Bet that made you forget I saw your underwear, didn't it!" His drunken grin infected his face as he leaned over the sink to howl with laughter. Levy's cheeks flushed once more and she couldn't hide the embarrassment that had crawled over her.

"Stupid Gajeel! I was having a good time tonight, too!" She huffed and waltzed out of the kitchen, beelining for the front door that would relinquish her to the safe confines of her own home.

The laughter faded and Gajeel made his way out of the kitchen to see her off. "I'm glad you had a good time, Shrimp. I did too. Now go get some sleep." Without another breath, he slipped back into the kitchen so she could make her way home.

Levy took the opportunity to steal a final look around the apartment she already felt comfortable in and snuck out the door. She quickly crossed the hallway, forcing the urge to go back inside deep down in her chest. She made herself enter her own home and get undressed for bed. Despite everything she was feeling, she crawled into bed and pulled her covers over her shoulders and her pillow close to her chest. The weight of the empty bed felt like it was crushing her as she forced her eyes to close.

As she laid there struggling to sleep, thoughts of the man from forever ago fizzled into the man that had seen her panties and treated her to dinner. Her eyes flew open and she fought herself to close them again. _There was no way he liked her… right?_ _I mean... what was there even to like?_ The thought embedded itself in her head and refused to budge. _And there is NO way I like him! ...right?_

After teasing her longer than was fair, sleep finally rested over her small frame and instead her dreams lit up with the thoughts and secret hopes she had been denying herself. Levy finally got some rest, feeling a little less alone in her new home.


	4. The Man Himself

**A/N: Hey guys! sorry it took me so long to write this chapter but I've been so busy now that I'm working full time! I'll try to keep up but I know I'm going to be just as exhausted as I have been so I apologize in advance if the chapters don't come out as often as I'd like. This won't be abandoned though! Please don't worry! I have all my stuff for this mapped out I just have to find the time to write it is all! Thank you so much for your patience and I hope you enjoy this chapter! ^-^ Please read and review? :***

 **P.S. the ** are brief violence**

 **The Man Himself**

Though he wouldn't let himself admit it, Gajeel had desperately wanted Levy to stay longer than she had last night. As soon as their plates had been cleared, she practically booked it back to her place. When Shorty had fled his apartment, an unwelcome emptiness had settled into his stomach. He didn't really like the klutzy woman so what was the big deal? He wasn't interested in getting anything from her so why the Hell is his stupid belly acting up? He was just being neighborly and attempting to make up for past discretions so why did it feel like it was trying to be something else?

The studded man crawled out of bed, trying to hide the fact that he had gotten very little sleep. He didn't need this bullshit; he had enough on his plate at the moment. Pushing the bluenette and her speedy escape from the previous night out of his mind, he made his way to the kitchen for breakfast. As he walked through his living room, he could almost feel the way the air had changed since she had been there. All of a sudden his home felt emptier than normal and it made him almost angry. Juvia came over all the time and it didn't feel empty after she had left. As a matter of fact, he usually rejoiced when his blue friend finally left him to his apartment in peace.

 _What the Hell is going on?_ The thought aggressively entered his brain as he stopped walking to rub his hands over his face. He let his hands drop back to his sides and shook his head to clear away the intrusive notions. Finally making it to the kitchen, Gajeel quickly fixed himself some eggs and stepped back into the living room to eat. He tried to get through his meal as swiftly as he could so he wouldn't let himself linger on the barrenness of the space he was in.

After he scarfed down his meal, he resigned himself to the shower in an attempt to wash away his seemingly unjustified foul mood. Gajeel slipped past the fogged glass door and relinquished himself to the steady stream of water that offered sanction from his unusual feelings. _Whatever is going on, I'll deal with it later._ He made a mental agreement with himself to not overthink the previous night. If she had a problem, that was hers to deal with, so he shouldn't let himself get worked up over nothing.

Once both his body and mind seemed satisfiably clean, the iron-studded man left the warm confines of the shower and got dressed and ready. Once clothed in what used to feel like fancy wear, Gajeel grabbed his case and slipped out of his front door. As he closed the door behind him, a small slip of paper fluttered to the floor and he quizzically reached down to pick it up.

 _ **Hey Gajeel! Sorry I left so suddenly last night but I really did have a great time! I would love to repay you for dinner so if you're free tonight, I'll be ordering pizza. ^-^ Leave a note with your favourite toppings? See you tonight!**_

Gajeel blinked. The unwelcome thoughts from earlier were suddenly nowhere to be found and have since been replaced with the roar of his heartbeat in his ears as his cheeks gave him away. _What…? She… she wants to have dinner again?_ The way she had abandoned his home the night before had left him uncertain of himself but now the way she had scrambled out seemed almost… cute? _CUTE?_ He shook his head for what felt like the millionth time that morning and rushed to get a pen from his case. Flipping over the tiny scrap of parchment, he quickly scrawled out his reply and taped it back up to the small bluenette's door.

With a smile finally being allowed to grace his features, Gajeel gathered himself up again and made his way to his important business at hand.

Despite the lack of sleep, Gajeel felt like he was as presentable and likeable as he possibly could have been. Why on Earth did the company not like him? Unmarketable? What did they even mean? He knew he could have a bit of a temper sometimes, but he knew better than to upset his chances by being brash, so he stayed as calm as possible. Still, how could they not have taken him?

The annoyance of this never-ending search was beginning to take a toll on the studded man. As he trudged home with his case slung over his shoulder, he quickly slipped into an alleyway to try to force his anger to leave through his knuckles. He landed a few hard punches into the cracking stone wall and bit his lip to cover the pain that had enveloped his senses.

"What the fuck is wrong with me!?" He let out a yell as his knuckles continued to connect with the barrier. The sticky sound of dripping rung through the suddenly silent passageway and demanded his attention. Gajeel halted his barrage against the concrete expanse to look at his damaged hands as he struggled to take in rough breaths.

The sight of blood pooling on his fists sent him back to times he wished he could forget, making his eyes squeeze shut and his teeth grind together. He brought his almost numb hands to his temples and fell to his knees, letting another short shout escape his lips. Wincing, Gajeel instinctively curled himself inward to avoid a blow he knew wasn't really coming. The man stayed that way -silent and waiting, slowing becoming more covered in his blood- for far longer than he thought. As he finally allowed his shaky hands to fall to his side, he glanced up to see that the sun was almost below the horizon. Night would cover the town soon, reminding him that he should be home by now.

With a weak grunt, Gajeel forced himself onto his feet and picked up his case that he had let fall to the ground at some point. The weight of the case strained on the muscles in his hands and earned itself another wince from the large man. He gritted his teeth once more and strode out of the backstreet and he made his way towards home.

Levy had spent her whole day at work nervously waiting to see if Gajeel wanted to come over for pizza. She knew it was silly of her to want to see him again so soon, but she couldn't help herself. There was just something about the pierced man that made her want to know everything about him. It felt like he was guarding some magnificent story that she was compelled to read.

The bluenette struggled to focus throughout her work day and she was extremely relieved when it was finally time for her to go home. Levy quickly grabbed her things and headed down to the lobby of the office building that would free her for the day.

The elevator door slid open and Levy swiftly slipped out, an unwelcome and ill-timed blush painting her cheeks as she thought about the possibility of getting to sit and have dinner with Gajeel again.

"Ohh, who is it Levy?" Mira chirped from her place at the front desk as she was putting her papers away for the day. The sudden question made Levy lose her footing and she stumbled, somehow ending up staying on her feet.

"W-what?" the blue haired woman stuttered, surprise chaining the blush to her cheeks.

"Oh, you would tell me if I knew him, wouldn't you?" Asked the receptionist with a smirk.

"I-if you knew who, Mira?" Levy was struggling to save face but she just wasn't ready to admit to anyone, even herself, that she had a silly crush on someone.

"If I knew the guy you're all but dying to go see right now! I can tell these kind of things, you know. You can't hide romance from me." The smile on her lips held the light-hearted threat behind them.

Levy gulped and tried to stay calm. "I… I don't even know if I'm going to be seeing him any time soon and I'm sure you don't know him so I'll just be heading home now." She trailed off, surprising herself and attempting to book it towards the front door.

Mira was too fast though. The snowy haired woman had managed to slip between Levy and the door in the last second, the smile on her lips looked almost menacing now.

"So I was right, huh? C'mon, little Levy! If I don't know him, what's the harm in telling me his name?" The grin managed to seem both sweet and daring, stirring a mix of comfort and unease in Levy's stomach. With a sigh, she realized her only hope of making it home was to give up the name.

After a moment of silence, Levy looked away from Mira's expectant look and opened her mouth. "I don't even know if I like him and I really really doubt he likes me back… but his name is Gajeel."

Mira blinked, the name clearly registering in her mind. Levy couldn't tell if her feelings regarding the name were good or bad but she felt that it was somehow both. "Gajeel, huh? Never thought he'd turn himself around so much that a sweet girl like you could fall for him! Good luck with that one, Levy! He sure is a rowdy one!" Mira's smile now held nothing but kindness and well wishes as she moved from the door to allow her to exit.

Levy gave Mira a shy nod and wished her a good night before booking it out the door and towards her still new home. _Never thought he'd turn himself around? Was he really that much of a troublemaker?_ She gave the large man a lot of thought on her walk before coming up to the front doors of her apartment complex. As soon as the door opened under her fingertips, the blush found its way back onto her features. She rushed up the stairs to her floor and made her way to her door as fast as she could.

She ripped the note she had been hoping would be there off of her door and held it to her chest as she shut it behind her. Without missing a beat, the bookworm dropped her stuff and read the note that had been accompanying the man who had written it in her thoughts the whole day.

 _ **Anything with lots of meat is fine with me, Shorty.**_

Relief flushed through her and she gripped the note tighter in her hands. _He wanted to see her again too!_ At the very least, he didn't seem to be upset over how quickly she had left the night before, so she welcomed the relief flooding over her.

She quickly found another piece of scrap paper and scribbled out a new message.

 _ **I'll order the pizza around 8 if that works for you? Feel free to come over whenever :)**_

After throwing the pen to the side, she ripped off a piece of tape from the dispenser on her desk and strode back out into the hall. Placing the note on Gajeel's door, she knocked and made her way back to her apartment. Once safely back inside the confines of her own place, she took to peeking out the peephole to see if he was home and getting the note already.

Levy watched for a minute before forcing herself away from the door so she could pass the time until dinner. She decided that she would go ahead and get into something more casual than her work clothes while she waited for eight o'clock to come.

The bluenette stared into her closet for way too long before deciding to just get into a large T-shirt and some shorts. After all, there were just going to have pizza so it wasn't like she really needed to dress up or anything. Levy pulled on the change of clothes and rushed over to her bed with a book so she could waste away the time. After a few attempts to get involved in the story on the pages, she knew she wouldn't be able to stay focused just as she hadn't been able to do at work all day. The clock ticked above her and she couldn't contain her excitement.

Levy closed the book and pushed herself off of the bed to peek out into the hall once more. The note was still up and it was clear he wasn't yet home but as it was approaching eight, she tried not to let herself worry.

After another half hour of waiting for Gajeel to come home, the rumbling of her tummy demanded that she eat. With a sigh, she picked up her phone and placed the order, hoping that he would be home before it arrived at her door. As the time ticked by, Levy waited at the entry, peering out into the hall. She rested her head against the doorframe and simply waited for someone to come.

Her eyes flew open and her head sprung up when a knock woke her from her doze. Her heart fluttered and she swung the door open, only to be greeted by the delivery boy with pizzas in hand.

"Good evening, ma'am." The dark-haired boy smiled.

"Hello! Give me just one second, I've got to grab my wallet." smiled Levy. She rushed off to her desk and rummaged in the drawer, coming up with her wallet after a short search. "Here you go; keep the change." She smiled sweetly at him and he blushed a bit as he handed her the pizzas.

"Woah, you know how much you gave me, right?" He blinked.

She gave him another smile and nodded. "Yes, I do. You were very fast and I know how rough jobs like this can be. Don't worry about it, you just have a good night." Her smile rubbed off on him and he gave a short bow before thanking her again.

Once the pizza was on her counter and the delivery boy was gone, she opened her front door again and looked out across the hall. She decided that it was best to leave a new note since the pizza was already there. Ignoring the grumble of her stomach, she grabbed a new sheet of parchment and wrote out a more up to date message.

 _ **So the pizza is in, just come on over once you're home! ^-^**_

Levy tried to keep her worry from affecting the tone of the note and she slipped back into the hall to tape up the new note beside the old one. When her foot hit the hallway floor, another set of footsteps reached the top of the stairs.

The small woman dared to look down the hall and after a brief moment of excitement, the worry she had been feeling made itself known to be right. It was Gajeel coming up the stairs, but his suit looked stained with something dark and the expression on his face cemented itself in her mind.

"Gajeel! Oh my God, are you okay?" The sound of her voice made his head jerk up so his eyes met hers and she watched as he tried to blink away the look in an attempt to make her forget it was ever there.

"Of course I'm okay, Shorty. Why wouldn't I be?" A smirk danced over his lips but Levy could see through it. He reached his door and smiled as he reached to take the note from her tiny hands. After giving it a very quick read over, he smiled down at her and tucked the note into his pocket. "So, dinner? I'm going to get cleaned up first, but you're welcome to bring the pizza over. I won't be long and I'll leave the door unlocked if you're okay with that."

Levy blinked, letting her eyes graze over his body in an attempt to assess the damage. She could hear the tinge of confidence wavering in his voice and she noticed that the source of the mess all over his clothes were wounds freckled over his hands. She looked back up and met his eyes, letting the brief silence hang in the air before she nodded.

"Y-yeah. I can bring over the pizza. I will be right back." She knew it might be weird to be in his apartment if he was showering, but she also knew there was no way he was going to be left alone when he was clearly hurt. She rushed into her place and grabbed the still hot boxes on the kitchen counter before speeding back across the hall and through the front door Gajeel had left unlocked. She made her way into the living room, set the boxes down on the table, and gave Pantherlily a few good scratches under his chin before daring to throw a glance past the bedroom door that had been left ajar.

"...Gajeel? Are you sure you're okay?" Levy called through the small opening. Her instincts told her to go in and be sure that he was alright but she couldn't bring herself to just barge in like tha-

"I told you I was fine, Shorty." The door opened fast, causing a small gust of air to hit her face. She had closed her eyes under the breeze and when she opened them, her eyes were met with Gajeel's large and unclothed chest. Startled and blushing furiously, she jumped back and tried her hardest to look away. After a few very quick glances, the bluenette decided that whatever had happened, he clearly wasn't really in any real pain as there were no bruises or cuts on most of his body. Only his hands seemed to pain him, which proved it wasn't something as horrible as she had thought. Once she had satisfiably reached her conclusion, she looked up and met Gajeel's eyes-honestly, a terrible mistake. The smirk on his face spread to his eyes and was eagerly waiting to infect his voice. "At least you can see that I'm okay, right? In all that starin' you're doin'?" The smile dripped like icing in his voice and for some reason, it nearly made Levy weak.

"I, uh… yeah. Yeah, I suppose you're okay. I'm sorr-"

"Don't apologize, Shrimp. I don't care if you like lookin'" As his words dared on, the sweet syrup in his tone was becoming almost intoxicating. Levy dared to close her eyes -just a bit; just a moment- to let the lovely sound wash over her.

"You should eat while the food's still warm, Shorty. Unless you were planning to keep up you're starin' while I get cleaned up." All of a sudden his voice had turned just a bit musky and Levy snapped her eyes open, a blush painting her cheeks and her knees just a little wobbly. Her nose twitched a bit -almost like a rabbit's nose would- and forced herself to be steady and to stand just a tad taller.

"I would do no such thing! I'll just have my dinner with Pantherlily but you had hurry up in there. I won't wait all night." Levy felt the heat rising on her features again but she managed to stand her ground.

The grin was on his lips again and he started to close the bedroom door between the two of them. "Whatever you say, Shrimp." _Click._

As soon as the door separated them, Levy released a breath she hadn't realized had been trapped in her chest. _What was this feeling? Why was she so nervous all of a sudden? Also, what the Hell was that about?! As if she would watch him shower! No way!_

The bluenette shook her head in an attempt to rid her mind of the not so clean thoughts that were manifesting up there. She didn't want to start thinking of her neighbor and new friend in a more-than-friends sort of way… did she? Of course she wouldn't want to make things weird between them after having patched up the problems from way back when. As Levy sat down on the familiar couch and let Pantherlily crawl into her lap, she spared a quick glance towards the bedroom door and reached for the remote.

 _What were you thinking?!_ The thought made itself loud and clear in Gajeel's mind the second he had closed the door on his small neighbor. _Why the Hell were you just being so flirty?_ He quickly hopped into the shower to try to scrub away how he was feeling.

The second the iron man stepped under the water, his knuckles burned and his muscles ached, reminding him why he had originally needed to get cleaned up. Now there was another reason, another persistent reason that was very unwelcome at the moment. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes before holding his face under the steady stream. He knew he couldn't do anything about the _issue_ while the girl in his head was also on his couch, so he tried his best to ignore it and hurry up and wash his wounds. Thoughts of the bookworm in his living room wouldn't just leave so easily, so he resided to scolding himself some more as the water beat down on him.

 _Why the fuck was I so forward? But… she wasn't offended. She retaliated even… didn't she? At least, she didn't seem at all upset by what I said._ Gajeel kept running the recent conversation over in his head, beginning to feel like he may have upset her somehow.

Though he was all cleaned up, he wasn't sure he could face her the same way he just had a few minutes before, so he kept the water running on his back. After a couple extra minutes of sulking, he finally accepted that he would have to get out and face her sooner or later. He turned around to face the faucet and-

"Gajeel?" His heart stopped. His breath was scared still in his chest. Did she really just come in and- "I know this is rude of me, but you've been in there for almost forty minutes and I was actually beginning to worry. Are you sure you're okay in there?" He could hear her calling from the entrance of the bedroom, knowing she wouldn't come any further unless he gave her reason to. But still… _forty minutes? How had it been that long?_

"Oh uh, sorry to worry you, Shrimp." He turned off the water and shook off a bit before reaching for a towel. "I'm alright; just got a bit lost in thought is all. Listen, if you've already eaten, you don't have to wait around on me. I know it's getting late."

"Are you kidding? I couldn't eat without you, what would have been the purpose of getting us both dinner?" She said it so matter-of-factly that it felt almost like a slap to the face to Gajeel. Not a cruel one, just the smack of a wake-up call.

"I- what?" The usually iron man stuttered. He heard a daring footstep or two, followed by silence.

"Oh don't get too worked up, Gajeel. I was just too worried to eat while you could possibly be dying in here. How could I have lived with myself if I let myself eat some pizza while you died? Now that I know you aren't dead though, I'm going to go reheat our dinner. You had better be out there when it's ready this time or I will drag you out by your ear no matter how indecent you are." Her words came as a shock to him, and though he didn't know it, she had just surprised herself enough to cause a fierce blush to raid her cheeks.

"Yes, dear." He replied back, feeling a bit of his flirty self returning as he stood naked with only the bathroom door between them now.

He could hear her sputter before she snipped, "Don't call me dear!"

"Whatever you say, honey." He was sure to add the hint of his previous sultriness to his voice in his short reply. He was rewarded with a small squeak he was sure he wasn't supposed to hear before she huffed and walked out of his bedroom. He allowed himself to smile -a real, genuine smile- for a moment before he forced himself to dry off and get dressed.

Sighing as she closed the bedroom door behind her, Levy spared a moment to lean against it. She couldn't admit it, but oh, how she had wanted to step in a bit further. Letting out another huff, she pushed off from the door and made her way to where the pizza had previously been abandoned.

Levy brought the boxes into the kitchen and grabbed some plates for their dinner. She picked out a few pieces of her pizza and set them on one of the plates and then did the same for Gajeel's. After all the pizza that they needed was heated up, she brought the plates out and set them on the table in front of the bluenette rushed back into the kitchen to grab some water and the whiskey she assumed that Gajeel would want and headed back out to claim her spot.

After placing the drinks next to their food, she pulled her knees up to her chest and slid the bottom of her oversized shirt over her legs. Grabbing the remote and her plate, she got all curled up and started a search for a good show to put on. Just as she had chosen a cartoon, she faintly heard the door open and brought her head up to give Gajeel a smile. Her eyes caught him in lounge clothes and she tried not to hold her breath.

Gajeel had come out in a tank top-one that showed off his arms like Levy couldn't believe- and a loose pair of sweatpants. She would have never assumed that lazy clothes could look so sexy but the way it looked on Gajeel stunned her into silence, only her blush giving her away.

"What is it, Shorty? Like what you see?" The familiar smirk creeped onto his lips and she tried to blink away her flustered look.

"Oh, shut it, you big dummy. Come and eat already." Levy was amazed with herself for keeping her composure and with a smile she tauntingly patted the seat beside her. His smile grew to something a bit more sincere and he say down next to her and reached for his plate.

"Brought the whiskey too, huh? I take it you like it more than you let on?"

"Not at all, I just figured that's what you'd want after the day you've had. What did happen, anyway?" Levy dared. The joking tone faded a bit and she saw his head tilt down some.

"Just got a bit worked up after being rejected again. I swear, I am going to make it one day." The roundness of pride shaped his voice and she could tell he felt a little more determined and less defeated than he had before. Though because of what she didn't know.

"Make it how, Gajeel? What are you going for?" Levy smiled sweetly, curiousity overcoming her.

"Eh, I'm a musician but don't worry about it. If I ever make it, you'll be the first to know." Her eyes widened and they both tried to hide the pink on their cheeks. Levy remembered seeing a large case on his back when he came home but she had been too preoccupied with his wounds to take any real notice.

"Will I ever get to hear you play?" She asked innocently.

"If that's what you want, Shrimp. I'll play for you sometime when it's not so late, how about that?" The light promise made her smile and she nodded happily before turning her attention back to the show and the food that her tummy so desperately wanted her to eat.

Gajeel didn't take too long to finish his plate, so he decided to grab another piece from the kitchen. He wasn't even still all that hungry, but he thought she might stay a bit longer if he was still having dinner. It was a bit of a stretch, but he could hope.

After retrieving another piece of pizza from the box stowed away in the kitchen, he sat back down next to his neighbor and took a few bites. They sat together quietly but comfortably and watched the silly cartoon, Levy having finished eating some time ago already. When the episode ended and he reluctantly decided he couldn't keep eating to try to get her to stay, he stood up and stretched, doing his best to add a convincing yawn.

"So I guess it's getting pretty late, Shrimp, you should probably-" He cut himself off as he looked down at her sleeping frame. Her soft breaths made her chest rise and fall ever so slightly and her mouth barely hung open. He could see her starting to drool a bit and he suddenly felt a pang in his chest. All of a sudden he knew he wanted her to stay. He wanted her to fall asleep in his clothes and wake up in his arms. He could picture her yelling that she didn't drool or snore before passing out against his chest. He wanted to come home and hear about her day and to listen when she needed to cry. He wanted her. He wanted to be hers. But that would be impossible, wouldn't it?

Gajeel bit his lip and closed his eyes, hoping the break in sight would stop his abruptly prevalent feelings. It was foolish to hope for that and when he opened his eyes, the feeling in his chest hit him just a little harder.

"Levy? Levy honey it's pretty late, you should be heading home." He gave her shoulder a soft nudge and she crinkled up her nose.

"Babe, I'm sleepy." She muttered softly, curling up into a ball and nuzzling her head into the arm of the couch.

The name hit him just as hard as his revelation had and he struggled to keep his composure. _She's asleep; she doesn't know what she's saying. She won't even remember saying anything at all when she wakes up._

"Come on, Levy, you'd hurt in the morning if I let you stay on the couch so you'd better head to bed." Gajeel swallowed hard, trying to keep the suggestion of her staying in his bed instead out of his mouth.

Levy rolled over and lifted up her arms to him. "Carry me." There was a whine in her voice but it was clouded out by the sleepy tone coating her words. He felt himself get weak and he gave in. The studded man knelt to pick up the small blue-haired woman and she tossed her arms around him. She nuzzled into his neck and he stiffened, hoping to death that the tiny woman in his arms couldn't see how red his face had become.

Taking a deep breath, he carried her out into the hallway and reached for her door. He turned the handle to open it, only it wouldn't turn. She had locked it. Of course she had.

Gajeel nudged her head with his own and struggled to ask her for the key. "Lev, you locked your door. Can I have the key so I can get you to bed?" He mentally slapped himself for how dirty it sounded but he was sure she wouldn't catch that.

"Mmm pocket." She mumbled. He blushed again and tried asking her once more. With how long the shirt she was wearing was, he wasn't even entirely sure if she had shorts on and he didn't really want to feel around to check.

"Lev, can you get them for me? Can you hand me the keys?" He gulped as she nuzzled into his neck again and his heart nearly gave out. He wanted this to be real so badly.

"Babe I caaaan't" She whined. _How is she still sleeping if she's talking this much?_ He took a deep breath and carefully reached for her keys. Luckily, he was able to grab them without any issue and he quickly unlocked her door and swung it open. Gajeel stepped inside and maneuvered his way over to the small woman's bed. After a small sigh escaped him, he set her down, straightened himself up, and cleared his throat a bit.

"Well, have a good sleep, Levy." The large man took a step away from the bed but was halted by a small hand wrapping around his wrist.

"Please stay, Gajeel." His heart stopped beating and his lungs refused to take in any air. He wanted so very badly to stay. She didn't mean it though; she didn't even know what she had just asked. There was no way. _But she said my name. Not a pet name with no designated receiver, MY name. Why?_

"Levy, I-" he started as soft snores filled the room. Her fingers loosened their hold and her hand slunk off the side of the mattress. His heart sank a little with it but he managed a smile nonetheless. He wanted nothing more than to stay but he wouldn't do that to her. He refused to corrupt her. He wouldn't do anything unless she wanted him to. Even then, Gajeel wouldn't ruin her.

He glanced down at the sleeping figure and made his way to the door again. He locked it from the inside and placed the key on the counter before shutting it behind him. On unstable legs he trudged back to his own apartment. The door that closed under his fingertips felt like it had a hold on him and he relinquished himself to it. The back of his head his the wood and he squeezed his eyes shut.

 _Hold me here or I might love her._


End file.
